all very well

Idioms

All right or quite true as far as it goes. For example, It's all very well for Jane to drop out, but how will we find enough women to make up a team? This idiom, first recorded in 1853, generally precedes a question beginning with “but,” as in the example. Also see well and good.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There’s a spacecraft and a robot and pirate references, all catnip for sci-fi and dystopia lovers and all very well done.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Demos were all very well, but Dean knew they could be faked.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

This, after all, very well may be the most stacked Huskies draft class yet.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 15, 2024

It is all very well saying you have invited someone to lunch, but if you then do not make them feel welcome, you have done more harm than good.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2023

Book learning is all very well, but as Agatha Swanburne liked to say, “If you want fresh ideas in your head, get some fresh mud on your boots.”

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023